On the hunt for a new job? Structure is key!

With the jobs market being more competitive than it ever was before, it is more difficult to secure that new job or contract.

Your job search and how you perform it is key to landing you that covetted interview and securing that new job.

There are many write ups about how to perfect your CV so the Job Search is something that requires a bit more structure once the CV has been submitted or getting to that stage.

Here is one such link on the Business Post website which gives great tips on writing your CV and making it stand out from the crowd.

A UCD grad, Jordan McDonnell and his ‘Not my Resume’ slideshow recently went viral and there aren’t many people in the Recruitment Industry who haven’t heard of Jordan and his valiant efforts to secure that interview in a non traditional way!

Such that it takes us back to ‘Jobless Paddy’ who bought a large billboard space with the message “Save me from Emigration” to yield responses from employers and that he did, he landed a job within weeks of the billboard going live.

You need to ask yourself what are you looking for in your next job? Think about what you want in a new job, what you had or didn’t have in a past role. Use this to develop a realistic job search plan with achieveable milestones. Be patient, but don’t wait for your dream employer to contact you.

Platforms such as LinkedIn, Worky, Beknown can all be very useful for your search and will put you in front of prospective employers but you will need to go the extra mile to be seen as keen and get that interview.

Set up a designated ‘office space’ to perform your search and use it daily to keep your day structured. Develop a search strategy identifying how you will conduct your search using varied methods such as: looking at online job listings, getting in touch with an agency, attending career fairs, and by networking to build stronger relationships with those who are hiring.

Keep a record of what you are doing and then evaluate what is yielding results, milestones you have reached and what you could spend more time on etc. Treat your job search like a work day, as afterall it is like having a full time job. In order to get the results that you strive for, you will need to really commit to your search and your next job won’t be far away!